0 to Z of Playstation 1 Games - Alien Resurrection

       

Alien Resurrection is a first person survival horror games based on the 1997 film of the same name. the game was developed by Argonaut Games and published by Fox Interactive. The games was distributed by Electronic Arts exclusively for the Playstation 1, and released 3 years after the film, releasing in October 2000 in North America, and December 2000 in Europe, versions of the game were planned for PC and the Dreamcast, but both were scrapped due to poor sales of the Playstation 1 version.

The game initially started out life as a 3^rd person survival horror in a similar vein to the Resident Evil games, with the game set to release on Playstation and rumoured to be releasing on the Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64 and PC. However close to the release of the film in late 1997 the game was scrapped and Argonaut Games began working on a first person shooter instead.

The game is a survival horror first person shooter, the game consists of a total of ten levels with the first nine taking place aboard the USM Auriga, with the tenth and final level set aboard the mercenaries ship Betty. While the game does focus around Ripley, the player will switch characters during the course of the game, the other characters are Call, DiStephano and Christie each of these characters have their own special equipment, and some having unique weapons to the character.

Weapons wise there is a decent mix of laser rifle, double barrel shotgun, shock rifle, flame thrower and others they you will need as you progress through the game when you face off against drone aliens, other clones, face huggers, marines as well as a queen. The player character can also become implanted with an alien, if this happens the player must track down a device in order to remove it, failure to do so will result in the alien hatching and a game over.

The game follows the basic plot of the 1997 film, taking place 200 years after the events of Alien 3, the game follows a cloned Lt Ellen Ripley as she tries to escape from the Xenomorph infested research ship the USM Auriga, along with a crew of mercenaries.

A good selection of reviews for his game and a mixed bag of reviews as well with the game averaging a rating of 64/100, as usual lets start with the highs, with a 90/100 we have TotalVideoGames, who were hyped on this game, either that or they just down a couple of pounds of sugar. Their review conclusion reading, Alien Resurrection is an astonishing game, one that needs to be celebrated again and again. The developers have gone to town with this one, everything about it seams perfect. Make sure you buy this one at your local video game shop and if you don't, well you're just crazy.

German publication Video Games were the next highest score for the game with an 80/100 they were critical of the games controls saying they need some real getting use to in areas, as well as the game being unfair in a couple of locations, however they also said. But if you put these flaws aside, you get everything you could want as an alien fan: A brilliant atmosphere, all the characters of the fourth part, nasty aliens Masses and dozens of shock effects that let you freeze the blood in the veins.

Just Games Retro were very late to review this game, with their review coming in 2011, they did however praise the game in their 80/100 review, They are quoted as saying. The game itself is still scary fun and solidly designed. It’s easily one of the best Alien games, easily among the top FPS games for the PS1 (much better than Alien Trilogy), and arguably one of the better console FPS’s out there. It doesn’t look like a modern title, but it does play like one, and it balances action and survival horror with some impressive skill.

PSM while scoring the game a 70/100 were fairly positive in their review conclusion with it reading. Those aching for the next first-person thrill need not look any further. Resurrection delivers all the goods with only a few minor hiccups. Pop in the game, turn down the lights and get ready for one of the scariest gaming experiences of your life.

Playstation Illustrated were more critical of the game in their 68/100 review and bemoaned the lost potential of the game, their review conclusion states. In the end, Alien Resurrection is one of the most painful games I’ve ever played. Not because it’s the worst, but because it had so much potential that was just thrown away. Games like this hurt to play -- you see where things went wrong, where a little more time could have made a solid gem of a game. Instead, we get a rough rock that isn’t worth the time to pick it up.

At the other end of the ratings scale we have Eurogamer.net (UK) who concluded their review stating the game has no real plot other than escape, coupled with a horrible and inconsistent control system and a lack of tension that can be found in the films that can be aquired for a similar price to this game, they recommending that you buy the films instead of this game.

Gameplanet were also highly critical of the controls for the game in their 40/100 score, as well as the mission structure that gets old very quickly and a serious reconfigure of the controls are needed to get anything out of the game. All Game Guide were also highly critical in their 40/100 review with their review concluding stating the following.

With Alien Resurrection, we're left with a title that offers scares but not much else, giving us repetitive gameplay that boils down to a keycard hunt, murky visuals that contribute to the atmosphere but are difficult to navigate, and a control scheme so horrible that it kills any enjoyment you'll have while playing.

This is the part of 0 to Z where is visit five online retailers and see what the availability of the title is, and what price you would be looking at if you wanted to pick this title up, the sites that I will be using for this are Amazon.com,  eStarland.com, retrogames.co.uk and Gamedude.com I know the last one is very location specific, but from a podcast I listen to I’ve heard they have a huge stock of older games, I will also be including Ebay.com as well

So lets get down to business with Gamedude, where if you are looking to trade in your copy of the game, Gamedude will give you $4. If on the other hand you are looking to buy a copy of the game from them you are looking at a cost of $12 for a copy.

Retrogames.co.uk also have a copy of the game available, this is a PAL version of the game in excellent condition and is available for £12. This converts to $15.38 in the US, in Euro zone countries you are looking at €13.09, while in the Ukraine you are looking at an outlay of 391.69 Ukrainian Hryvnia. for buyers outside of Europe please be aware this is a PAL version of the game and will only work on a PAL region console, see guide at the bottom for Region areas.

Moving on to eStarland.com where a complete used copy of the game is much more expansive than the previous two stores, with  a copy priced at $29.95, they do also offer a trade in price for the game which is much more generous than Gamedude, with eStarland offering $16 for a copy of the game.

Heading to Amazon next and like eStarland.com prices for a used copy of the game a quite high with an good quality used copy available for a minimum of $23.81, disc only copies are similarly priced as well. For a better quality and complete copy of the game, you are looking at a minimum spend of $28.99 this also comes with free shipping. This converts to 738.23 Ukrainian Hryvnia, in the Euro zone region it will set you back €24.66 while in the UK It will cost you £22.61, please also bear in mind this copy is the North American version so will only work on a NTSC U/C console.

New copies for the game are even more pricey with two copies on the market currently, the cheapest is priced at $88.20 + $4.69 for shipping, the second copy reaches past the $110 mark once shipping has been added in.

Ebay.com one thing to clear up the shipping costs are based on where I live in the UK, shipping costs will vary depending on which country you live in. So as you would expect US copies of the game come with a hefty shipping cost, with a few copies on sale often doubling the price,  a complete used copy of the game is priced at $10.50 the shipping cost is another $20.31.

There are also some new copies of the US version of the game available with prices starting at $129 one copy is available for $100, this copy only ships in the US.

Heading over to the European sellers where shipping is much less wallet shredding expensive, a used very good quality copy of the game is available for $9.68 this comes with free shipping as well. a new sealed copy of the game us currently up for auction with the price currently sitting at $13.55.

 

Written by

P J Gibbon